


What's in a name?

by Kingknome



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Choices, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 02:26:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4859588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingknome/pseuds/Kingknome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a reason he almost always introduces himself as Star Lord</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's in a name?

"...You may know me as Star Lord."  
There's a reason he almost always calls himself that during an introduction, although he prefers being just "Quill". On the night when Yondou and the Ravagers had picked him up, he'd been just one of about twenty kids, some older and some younger. They'd all been crammed into what he now knew as the M's brig, a single room about 5x5. All of them crying and kicking the walls and pissing themselves, until Kraglin and Yondou had kicked their way in and started poking kids. Although he hadn't known who they were then, they'd just been two monsters who could have walked out of any Don Buth movie. The Ravagers scanned each child by stabbing them with a needle anywhere they could reach. The scanner would Bzzzzt, and they'd throw the terrified child behind them, reaching for the next one.  
When they got to Peter, he'd kicked Kraglin so hard the Ravager had bitten through his own tongue. Yondou had stabbed him rather viciously in the leg with the scanner, and instead of the Bzzzzt, it had whistled, and then in a deep voice intoned "Peter Quill, Star Lord".  
So later when half the crew had tied him naked to the kitchen table, sharpened their knives and slathered him in alien ketchup, he could never totally shake the belief that Star Lord was someone special. 

When Quill saw what happened to the other kids he knew he was special. He hadn't really thought about them after Yondou had pulled him from the brig, too terrified, and in awe. At first he'd been left mostly in the main galley or followed Yondou to the bridge (holy shit a spaceship!), but quickly had gotten underfoot. Kraglin had the bright idea to give him a rag after supper one day, and that's how he stated as the ship's janitor. There wasn't a much to do on a spaceship, and scrubbing every part of it let him learn. This is what a door lock looks like, this is a good spot to hide a backpack, this is a light switch, this is where food bars are kept, this is gravity, this ejects everything into space, this is how you open a locked door... It was after the last two he'd been dressed like a turkey and pissed himself on the kitchen table.  
It was hard though! Nobody wood explain anything to him, and if they tried it was a tiring game of pantomime where not even gestures translated. Finally Yissld who at one point had had kids of his own had shown him how to use a terminal to bring up simple learning programs. They were amazing! In color and a thousand times more complex than Pong, Quill devoured them, and often hogged the terminal until a crew member would literally kick him off. After that he started 'borrowing' personal tablets until he found one that no one seemed to notice was missing, and spent hours curled up in hidey-holes learning the clicks, growls, drawls, and whistles of the Nova language.  
It didn't take long listing to the crew to realize there were three or four languages being used on the ship, and that the computer was censoring some of them more colorful phrases. But he learned it all and kept out of the way. 

Then they finally landed on a planet. Yondou had come and found him and strapped him into a galley jumpseat next to Yissld. As soon as the engines cut he'd been out of his seat onto the bridge. Yondou had made it clear instantly, that he wasn't to leave the bridge, or touch anything, but let him stay in the starboard chair where he could see everything. Yissld took the caption's chair and appeared to fall asleep.  
The planet was a plateau with a few mesas in the distance that remained Quill of home so badly he ached and suddenly remembered this wasn't a trip to Neverland or Narnia like he'd been pretending. He tried to focus on the spaceport instead, there were tents in purples and orange, with a million unfamiliar things for sale beneath them, and a dozen species of people that weren't represented in the Ravager's crew. Most of the people were sort of furry like dogs or bears except they had smushed faces like an owl, and walked mostly upright. They had big paws with long claws they seemed to use like chopsticks, and thumbs high up on their wrist. A few of them were discussing something with Yondou and Kraglin, making motions toward the several crates and barrels that Quill hoped were full of food. There had been less at meals lately and a few of the crew had tried to squirt him with alien ketchup again. 

Kraglin gave a sloppy salute to Yondou, walked into the ship, and a moment later pulled one of the kids outta the brig. Quill felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. He had totally forgotten about the kids that had been there at the beginning. Or maybe he'd pretended they'd been sent home. He turned to leave the bridge, but found Yissld blocking the way out.  
"Stay" he said in a deep growl, "Learn". 

Terrified quill turned and watched as one by one the kids he'd forgotten about were lead off the ship, and presented to the owl-bear-person. Their hands were presented and examined, and then they were packed into the barrels. After each child was packed up, a crate was loaded onto the ship. Then Kraglin brought down two more children, slung over his shoulder, and dropped them on the ground. They were dead, and after another quick discussion, Yondou and Kraglin each took one more crate back to the ship while the aliens packed the two bodies into a barrel.  
The. Yissld took him by they shoulder and dragged him from the bridg, the horrified trance Quill was in broke and he fought back. But Yissld was monstrously strong, and no matter where quill kicked or big or screamed, he could not get free. Yissld took him to the open loading ramp, and then finally dropped him. "We are Ravagers." He growled "Stay, Go, I care not."  
Quill scurried into a corner and watched as the rest of the crew loaded and unloaded more boxes, laughing and joking. He stayed after they finished and watched them walk out into the spaceport, and watched them walk back hours later drunk and belligerent.  
And all the while was his choice, leave, to the unknown and try to save the kids he's forgotten about, or stay with the Ravagers, where at least he knew the ship. Evenly sleep claimed him, and made the choice for him. Where he woke up, Yondou was sitting just before him. "So you stayed huh? Won me twelve hundred credits doing that. Yissld bet that you'd take off. But suppose you're a Ravager now, you can talk mostly alright now and all." 

"What's it mean?" Asked Quill? "To be a Ravager?"

"It means you get a bunk and three squares when we've got 'em and we try to look out for each other. It's a hot-cold galaxy out there, so you take what you can, when you can, however you can, and don't get Nova Corps mixed up with business. You've got one choice, and you can get in a barrel them snots, or you can be crew. Crew don't get eaten by the way, and hands like yours are considered a delicacy in these parts." 

"I'll stay!" Quill said almost before Yondou finished, "I'll be good!"

"Don't need you good," said Yondou getting up, "need you to be useful." And he left the main hold. Quill scrambled to follow him, following just out of sight, until he herd Kraglin. "...what about Star Lord?"  
"He's crew now, no sense in going out of our way and taking a loss."  
"Fine but I'm not watching him..." 

Star Lord. It was important. What ever had told them his name, his mothers nick name for him, it kept him safe from slavers, and being eaten alive, and kicked off the ship. And someday he would find someone who knew why. In the mean time, his pants were starting to get tight, and he knew a few crew members who might have some spares he could 'borrow'.

**Author's Note:**

> There's so much more I want to expand into this universe, but it's really hard on my tiny phone screen, so please forgive my spelling and grammar.


End file.
